Sherman See, Sherman Do

Yes, you will have to endure regular Foster Dog postings. I figure including pictures of adorable puppies AND MINA will be acceptable.

I called the rescue and found out if it would be okay to introduce Mina and Sherman sooner rather than later. All signs indicated a peaceful interaction and Sherman REALLY wants to be around the ladies. Celeste might get to go on a walk with him, but no way in hell is she going to like Sherman, and I don't want Sherman to have super negative interactions with other dogs (I love Celeste dearly, but she is afraid of other dogs and reacts inappropriately). They were fine with that, plus they approved Sherman meeting another dog who I think will *hopefully* fit his play style better.

Because Mina is 12. And while she has it in her to play with a puppy, she is a sun-bathing queen more than anything else. Sherman LOVES Mina and used every behavior he could think of to get her to play. It worked but only briefly, then Mina went back to the sun spot.

Sherman shows us how to mimic. Sorta.

He tries to nonchalantly sidle up and sit off to the side:

What we doing, Mina? Please for it to involve play?

And then he tries the lay down method:

I love you, Mina.

Sherman has appropriate dog play skills. Mina is set in her ways, for the most part, so it was really up to Sherman to adjust his play to her style. And he did great. He was not too mouthy, and although I think he wanted to wrestle, he played her "run around in circles" game very well.

When Mina corrected him, he reacted appropriately by slinking off embarrassed by his social faux pas, but immediately came back with different tactics.

It was fun to watch him read and respond to Mina. I think he will be a bit of a pushover when he is larger and older, but now is a great time for him to learn some social skills with different dogs.

And wow, he is BIG! He's almost as tall as Mina, who is at about 17" inches at the shoulder. He is way bulkier than her...and his paws! They are twice as big! He is going to be a big lug of a dog, and I hope whomever adopts him sends me pictures of him as an older bloke.

Sherman is available for adoption through A New Hope Animal Foundation.